When the unabridged version “trumps” the soon to be released edited version!
Vanessa
Johnson is an aaduna artist. Moreso…she is an
empowering force of humanistic spirit, continuously thrusting forward swirling
wind gusts of positivity. Ms. Johnson is simply…
a griot and
storyteller in the West African tradition. She is a writer, a playwright,
actor, fiber artist, museum consultant, community activist, community
researcher and documentarian, teaching, and performance artist all the while
directing her storytelling band “Mate Masie” (ma-tee ma-say). {“Mate Masie”
recently performed “One Soul at a Time”- Singing Harriet Tubman at the Cayuga
Museum’s Carriage House in Auburn N.Y.}
Ms. Johnson
served on the Juneteenth Committee and coordinated this pivotal annual festival
at the Southwest Center in Syracuse, NY for three years where she created and
directed the “Juneteenth Interactive Museum” for five years. Vanessa was the
co-coordinator of the New York State Fair Pan African Village for nine years,
founding and implementing the “Harambee Youth Tent” which offered free art and
cultural experiences for youth and adults. She founded “Syracuse Africa Bound”
in 1989 offering youth aged 10-18 travel and cultural exploration in Ghana,
West Africa. Vanessa was the director of education for the Onondaga Historical
Association for over four years where she used her storytelling talents to
articulate the diverse history of Onondaga County at museums, schools, always
underpinned by her community presentations throughout New York State.
As a visual
artist, her first solo quilt show, “Unwrapping Vanessa”, was exhibited at Syracuse’s
ArtRage Gallery in 2017. In February/March she curated her first exhibition
“The Struggle to Connect”, a visual conversation between women of color and
women of European descent centering on the critical issue of race in America.
This summer her dual fiber art shows “In the Voice of God - The Spirituality of
Harriet Tubman was on exhibit at the Schweinfurth Art Center as well as at the
Cayuga Museum in Auburn, NY. And if that is not enough background…
Johnson’s play,
“Doors” was produced in May 2014 by the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company of
Syracuse. She has written, directed, and produced children’s plays for the
Onondaga Historical Association’s History Drama Troupe in Syracuse, NY and for
several after school drama programs. During the 2021-22 school year, Vanessa
created “The Griot Guides” program at Syracuse University’s Community Folk Art
Gallery, teaching African American history through storytelling, art, and
cultural lessons about the African Diaspora, and literature.
At present,
“Ms. V” is the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation women’s rights center’s Artist in
Residence. As a consultant for the museum, she designed the Underground
Railroad Room, and was trained in Dialogue Facilitation for the museum’s
Community Dialogue Program on Reproductive Rights (“Who Chooses?”). In 2012-13
Ms. Johnson was the Gage Foundation Community Liaison for their Girl’s
Ambassadors for Human Rights Program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department
and the International Coalition of Sites of Conscious, between the United
States (Syracuse), Chili, and Sri Lanka, and she directed the program from
2016-2021. Ms. Johnson’s one woman shows include her portrayals of Fannie Lou
Hamer, Audrey Lourde, and Julia Cooper. She is developing two new shows for her
residency at the Gage Foundation where she will portray Shirley Chisolm and Ida
B. Wells.
Several of
Vanessa’s short stories can be found in a local publication - “Women’s Voices:
An Anthology of Poetry and Short Stories” published by Bialo Publications, Inc.
She is the editor for a collection of stories written by youth from the Arts
Academy at Syracuse University’s Community Folk Art Gallery “High Flown Words”
2022 published by Wildebeest Publishing.
 |
| Vanessa Johnson (photo provided) |
Vanessa Johnson will read her work
at aaduna’s October 27, 2022, gala fundraising event at the
Carriage House Theater, Cayuga Museum of History and Art in Auburn, NY.
ATTENTION!
Meet Vanessa in person on October 27th as she performs at aaduna's 6th Annual Fundraiser Gala,"Celebrating the Legacy of Harriet Tubman in the Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance..."
Advance Sale Tickets AVAILABLE NOW via EVENTBRIGHT until October 26th.
CLICK TO PURCHASE
aaduna - an online adventure with words and images - a globally read, multi-cultural, and diverse online literary and visual arts journal established in 2010.
Comments
Post a Comment
Please share your comments, thoughts, feedback, or ask questions - thank you!